Total ridership this month was 11,276 compared to 10,159 riders in 2016, an overall increase of 11%. This is the third month that Sandy Transit has been able to report a growth in ridership and is a good indication of the success of the new fare structure implemented in November 2016.
The SAM-Gresham route experience an 11.9% increase in ridership. STAR ridership increased by 13.1%. The new Shopper Shuttle experienced a 13.8% growth over the previous month and a 71.7% increase over the first month of implementation.
The SAM Estacada route experienced a decrease of 25%. This route continues monthly growth in ridership since the route changes in November of 2016. The Elderly and Disabled program (out-of-town medical rides) experienced a 15.1% decrease, a welcome slow to what has been a high demand service in recent years.
SAM partnered with Compassion Sandy in May. Compassion Sandy is a group of churches and volunteers who put together medical and dental services as well as clothing donations in a one day event for low income families and individuals. SAM provided free rides all day to ensure there were no barriers for people to access the needed goods and services. Sam also partnered with Todos Juntos during the past few months to provide rides for families attending parenting classes at the local grade school. Three families were transported through the STAR program while one mother received rides through a non-profit known as Sandy Helping Hands as her location was outside the SAM service area. SAM, Todos Juntos and Sandy Helping Hands worked together weekly to ensure each family was able to attend.
Sandy staff meet with Arboc, ODOT, DAS and Creative Bus Sales to identify solutions for ongoing mechanical problems with 2 Arboc Spirit of Freedom buses bought in 2014 and 2016. Both vehicles continue to have problems and are not operational a significant percentage of the time since being added to the Sandy fleet.
The Transit Assistant, Muna Rustam, attended a training at the Sandy Senior Center focused on meaningful interaction with people with Mental Health Issues. Although the training was primarily focused on mental health as related to Alzheimer’s and Dementia, the information is applicable to a variety of mental health disorders.
Staff also attended the quarterly Mt Hood Transportation Alliance in May, at which it was announced that the County has contracted with Sandy Transit for various administrative tasks of the Mt Hood Express service. This was well received by the group. Sandy and County employees began meeting to exchange information, documentation, procedural policy and more for a smooth transition July 1, 2017.